I am AB Gold and can see that I can get XL seats for free on AB operated flights.

I am now looking at an Asia-Europe connection for which the Asia leg is operated by EY and the Europe leg operated by AB. When booking through AB portal, I can select the XL seat for the Europe leg without any problems. However, I am not able to select any seat for the EY legs.

Now I am wondering:

Does EY have a similar XL seat concept?

Will I be able to select the seats on the EY manage booking page for the EY legs after the booking? Considering they are having such a big stake, I would expect their IT infrastructure to me much more aligned.

Would booking via EY make more sense, knowing that after booking I can log-in to AB and select my XL seats without no issues?

Will I be able to select the seats on the EY manage booking page for the EY legs after the booking? Considering they are having such a big stake, I would expect their IT infrastructure to me much more aligned.

Would booking via EY make more sense, knowing that after booking I can log-in to AB and select my XL seats without no issues?

1. No.
2. Yes, but you need the Etihad PNR. Read more.
3. No. "Without no issues" means there will be issues, and I doubt you will be able to select your XL seats if you book via Etihad.